I'll Catch You When You Fall
by ladyclaire4161
Summary: Lily Evans is having a bad day and a caring James Potter sweeps her off of her feet. Well, he helps her stay on her feet. I stink at summaries...


A/N: This idea has been rolling around in my head for a while, so I decided to give it a go. It's just a one-shot, my first one-shot actually, but I hope you enjoy it. I doubt that I'll continue it.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Nothing. Great, now I'm depressed…

**I'll Catch You When You Fall**

Three things happened almost simultaneously:

_BEEEPPP!_

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

_THUMP!_

Lily Evans had fallen out of her bed. That quickly made today the worst day ever. Lily had no idea that her day was about to get much worse.

She emerged from the floor beside her bed, her mood zooming down the toilet. Her red hair was a tangled mess. Her pajamas twisted around her body in an abnormal way. Her usually sparkling green eyes were dull and weary. Something was wrong with her.

Even though some consider Lily to be the brightest in her year (in fact, she was Head Girl), she did not grasp the fact that something was wrong.

"Stupid mornings," she muttered to herself. Never being a morning person, Lily blamed everything on waking up. She never understood why she always had to wake up at the best part of her dreams. It was as if she wasn't allowed to know what would happen. And if she was having a nightmare, it seemed as if she would never wake up at all. It wasn't fair, and Lily hated it.

She stumbled to the bathroom in the Girl's Dormitory. Even though she had her own private Head Dormitory and Common Room, she never used them. She missed her friends too much. Especially Casey, her funnest (A/N: I know this isn't a word), craziest, best friend.

_I wonder where she is,_ Lily thought to herself after gazing at the room from the bathroom door. She obviously didn't notice Casey snoring from under a mass of clothing on her bed. This was not Lily's day.

She turned on the hot water, hoping that the steam would clear her head. Lily soon zoned out, staring at the water coming out of the faucet. Eventually, she remembered that she had to get in the shower, or she would be late. She quickly jumped into the square shower. It took her a full five seconds to realize that the water was scalding her skin, and that she still had her pajamas on. In her scramble to get away from the burning water, she slipped on the soap. Lily fell in a crash, hitting her head against the wall.

Not even bothering to get up, Lily just groaned and rolled over the ledge to get out of the death-trap shower. She sat there, on the cold floor, dripping wet. Her head throbbed with pain. It felt like her brain was going to fall out. She didn't want to get up to face the day, but a bang on the door made her move.

"Lily! Are you okay?" Casey called from outside the door.

"Just peachy!" she yelled back cynically. Lily was not looking forward to going to classes today.

She showered and got ready without anything special happening. Unless you consider "anything special" to be tripped when putting pants on. And almost getting decapitated with a tie, gravity, and a bedpost (don't ask).

Finally ready (and having nothing left to do to procrastinate), Lily headed down to the Common Room. She didn't even want to attempt breakfast. Falling on your face in front of the whole school tends to be a little bit embarrassing.

Flopping down the stairs, Lily wasn't really paying attention to her feet. Somehow, they managed to get tangled in her robe. Before she knew it, she was falling down the last five stairs. _Stupid feet,_ she thought as she hit something that didn't quite feel like the floor.

She was right. She didn't land on the floor. It was much worse. She landed right on top of James Potter, her mortal enemy. Actually, they had kind of gotten along recently. Only kind of, though.

Mentally cursing her bad luck, Lily whacked her head against his chest and moaned. She didn't want to get up and face the world. His chest was really warm, and hard, but soft too…

"Having a bad day, Lily?" James asked, chuckling softly, interrupting her thoughts.

Lily looked up and the pair locked eyes. Instantly, Lily remembered that she was lying on top of James Potter, of all people. She quickly sprang up to her feet, scrambling to the portrait hole. James got up, too, watching her every move. In her hurry, Lily's foot caught on the carpet, sending her flying. Luckily for her, James noticed and sprang into action.

He caught Lily as she was falling, and he propped her up.

"Be careful, Lily. You don't want to get hurt," James said, his hazel eyes full of compassion.

Lily didn't notice, though. She mumbled a quick, "Thanks," and ran through the portrait hole.

Potions was usually Lily's favorite class, but today, it was torture. She had her head on the table, trying to clear her mind of the horrible events from a few minutes ago.

"What's up with you today?" Casey asked in a whisper as the professor droned about the potion that they were brewing today.

"Uhhhh…" she moaned in reply.

"I take it you're not having a very good day?" inquired Casey, twirling a piece of her short brown hair.

"Ya think?" Lily snapped. Casey looked hurt, so she quickly added, "Sorry. It's not your fault that I am having a terrible day. I can't concentrate. And I keep tripping."

Since Lily had gotten up to grab the supplies for the potion, she didn't see the guilty look plastered on Casey's face. Lily returned to the table with the supplies and surprisingly, hadn't fallen over.

"Bugger, I forgot the goat's blood." Lily quickly hurried over to the supplies area. Goat's blood in hand, she started back for her seat. Naturally, her foot found the leg of a desk and she felt herself falling once again.

_Great, _she thought as she fell, _now I'm going to get goat's blood all over me. Stupid feet. Stupid desk. I hate the world. _

But she didn't. The small vial flew through the air as Sirius Black, James's best mate, sprang to his feet. He raced to where the vial was headed and leaped to catch it in midair. He wasn't a Quidditch Chaser for nothing.

As this was happening, James also sprang from his seat. He wasn't concerned about the vial, though. He dashed to Lily's side and caught her before she hit the ground.

"Long time no see," he said as he helped Lily to her feet. That last fall had snapped her temper. She was surprised that she lasted so long without yelling. That would soon change.

"Yeah, hopefully we won't see for another long time!" she barked at him. Lily then turned on her heel and stormed back to her seat. She was sick of James having to save her. _I don't need saving. But what's wrong with me today?_

"Geesh, he was just trying to help," Casey pointed out. Lily glanced over to James to see him running his hand through his black hair. Lily used to hate the habit, but now she found that it didn't bother her anymore. She actually found it rather cute. She instantly forgot about her rage.

_His hair is so messy_,she inwardly laughed, _I wonder what it would feel like if I ran my fingers through it._ Before she could ponder that thought, she had to start working on the potion. Casey was helpless at potions, and Lily didn't want a bad grade. Still, while making the potion, Lily couldn't help but think about a certain messy-haired boy the whole time.

Transfiguration was Lily's worst class, for good reason. No matter what she did, the worst things would always happen to her. She did everything right: pronunciation, wand movement, everything. It just wouldn't work. On top of that, she normally ended up with a dangerous "thing" on her hands.

The class was supposed to transfigure a book into a ball. Lily just stared at her book, then groaned dramatically. With a thump, she banged her head against the desk…again.

"Come on, Lily," Casey attempted to cheer her up, "it's not that hard. This is fifth year stuff. We're seventh years! We can handle it!"

Lily scoffed and looked up. "Speak for yourself, stupid Transfiguration prodigy… I'm going to end up with some killer rabbit or something!" (Lily had watched too many Monty Python movies with her parents. She actually did transfigure a rock into a carnivorous butterfly, though. Accidentally, of course.)

"Stop being so morbid, Lily," Casey scolded, bouncing her newly transfigured ball. "You'll be fine."

"If you say so. But if I die, I swear I will come back to haunt you."

"Deal!" Casey laughed. After taking a deep breath, Lily said the incantation and waved her wand. Surprisingly, the book turned into a small, yellow tennis ball. Lily sighed in relief.

"See, I told you s—," Casey started to boast. She was cut off by the seemingly harmless tennis ball opening its mouth (that's right, its mouth) and revealing a set of very sharp teeth. Lily groaned again. She knew something like this would happen. Before she could react, the tennis ball flew at her. Lily leaned back on instinct, shielding her face, and felt the familiar sense of gravity pulling her to the floor.

_I've always like the floors in this room_, she contemplated while falling backwards on her chair. _They're like marble, or something. They look kinda hard, though…_

A pair of strong hands grabbed the back of Lily's chair and pushed it so it was on its four legs again. She turned slightly to see James holding onto it, steadying it. She also noticed a yellow blur heading towards his head.

"James! Watch out!" she yelled, pointing behind him. In the space of three seconds, James grabbed his Transfiguration book, turned around, and pounded the evil tennis ball into the wall. Then with a flick of his wand, he turned the ball back into a book.

"It's not every day that I get to save a beautiful young girl from an evil, carnivorous tennis ball," James said, grinning and laughing. Lily blushed at his complement, putting her head to the desk again to hide from the snickering class.

Professor McGonagall starred at said class from the front of the room.

"Well, that was a nice little show. I think we've had enough for now. You're all dismissed," the professor announced with a wave of her hand. Everyone filed out of the room, but Lily didn't move an inch. She stayed put until silence engulfed her.

Lily didn't want to move, but her stomach growled, reminding her that she missed breakfast. She did not even notice how hungry she had become until now. She sighed and lifted her head. She was startled by what she saw.

James's face was about five inches from her nose. He sat there, staring at her. Lily's green eyes locked with his hazel ones. They gazed at each other for seconds, but both felt like they could stay there for eternity. Finally, James broke the silence.

"Are you alright?" he whispered caringly, never once breaking gaze.

"Yeah," she murmured back, her mind still lost in his hazel eyes.

James stood up and extended his hand towards Lily. "Let's go to lunch."

"Okay," she said while standing up and taking is hand.

James dropped Lily's hand after helping her up. In silence, they walked together to the Great Hall. Lily enjoyed the quiet company, and she let her mind wander to where it wanted to go. She found that she kept thinking about his warm hand, how it was strong, yet gentle, when she held it. She wanted to hold it again, but she was hesitant. Was she really starting to like James?

Lily was oblivious to the fact that James was having almost the same thoughts running through his own head. He desperately wanted to walk hand-in-hand with her, but he too was hesitant. He knew he cared deeply for Lily, but he wasn't sure that she felt the same way. He was glad that she was even talking to him. He didn't want to spoil the moment.

They reached the Great Hall, and James escorted Lily to a seat next to Casey. Then with a small bow and a grin, he left to sit with Sirius. Lily smiled dazedly after he left.

"What's up with you and Potter?" Casey demanded with keen interest.

"I don't know," Lily answered truthfully. "He walked me here." Lily started to pick at her food, not really paying attention to anything. Casey kept looking from James to Lily, back and forth.

They ate mostly in silence. Casey really wanted to get Lily talking, so she asked about her family. Lily instantly started rambling about her sister, Petunia. Casey, proud of her work, sighed and leaned back while listening to Lily.

After lunch, Lily was starting to feel better about her bad day. Well, she was until she started to get up. She almost immediately slipped on some spilt pumpkin juice, falling once again.

_Great_, she thought, _I'm falling again. At least most of the students already left for class…_

She found that, once again, she didn't connect with the ground. James was getting up at about the same time, and he caught Lily before she could hit the floor. He steadied her against the table.

"Are you sure you're okay?" James asked.

"Yeah, I'm good," Lily answered.

"Hmmm, we don't have the same class next," James pondered. "How will I make sure that you don't fall and break your pretty neck?" Lily instantly felt color flood to her face at the comment.

James thought for a moment, then exclaimed, "Aha! Casey dearest?"

"Yes captain my captain?" Casey appeared saluting. Casey's a Quidditch fanatic. She played Keeper, and James was the Seeker and captain. They were really good friends, and they would always joke about the "Oh Captain, My Captain" thing.

"I need you to watch Lily so she doesn't inadvertently fall to her death. Can you do that?"

"Sir yes sir!" Casey shouted, saluting once again. She then grabbed Lily's arm and they left the room. James could hear Lily shout from the hall.

"I don't need a body guard!" she screamed. A few seconds later, James heard a loud crash and a lot of cursing.

"Bloody tables!" Lily screamed as James made his way towards Divination, laughing uncontrollably.

Lily cursed and cursed her bad luck. Why did her Herbology class need the bark from an oak tree? Why did it need to be from the tenth branch from the bottom? Why did it have to be hand picked?

_Ahhh! _Lily screamed in her head. _Stupid Herbology. Stupid bark. Stupid bad day! _She trudged to her favorite tree by the lake. She would always come to that tree to sit and read on sunny fall days like today.

She reached the tree and looked up. It looked a lot bigger than before. Lily pulled her red hair in a ponytail to keep it out of her face. Then she started up the tree. She was so busy concentrating that she didn't notice a messy-haired boy come to sit by the tree and stare out at the lake.

_Branch number three._ Lily had a really hard time ditching Casey. She took her bodyguard job surprisingly seriously. She even followed Lily to the bathroom. Lily had to bribe a cute Hufflepuff into distracting her long enough for an escape.

_Branch number seven. _The next Hogsmeade trip was this week. Lily was really excited. She always loved those little vacations from Hogwarts. She especially loved Honeydukes; she lived for chocolate.

_Branch number ten._ Having finally reached the tenth branch, Lily reached out and pulled a piece of loose bark. The piece really held on. With a hard tug, it came free at last, but it startled Lily. She lost her balance and gravity pulled her downwards.

This time, Lily didn't think anything as she fell. She screamed and clamped her eyes shut, praying that she wouldn't die. She wasn't ready to die yet.

"_Arresto momentum_." She heard someone say as she plummeted to the ground. Instantly, Lily felt the speed at which she was falling decrease. She then landed in someone's strong arms. Lily had a guess at who it was, but her eyes were still closed.

"Lils, it's okay," a soothing voice hummed in her ear. "Open your eyes."

Lily slowly opened her eyes and was lost in the hazel ones staring back at her. She felt a smile creep to her face.

"There, that's better," James said grinning. He was still holding her close to him, bridal style.

"Thanks James," Lily sighed, never looking away from his eyes.

"No problem," answered James. "I'll always be here to catch you when you fall."

His statement was so caring and true that it brought tears Lily's eyes. She quickly blinked them away and rested her head against James's chest. She realized that she could stay in his arms forever.

"Lily," James started. Lily raised her head so she could look into his eyes. "Would you go to the Hogsmeade trip with me? Like on a date?"

Lily smiled and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Sure," she whispered right into his ear. James's face split into the widest grin that Lily had ever seen. It made her laugh.

"Oh, what's so funny?" he asked looking hurt. He didn't wait for an answer. He swung Lily around so she was over his shoulder, giggling madly.

"Put me down!" she laughed, pounding his back with her fists (lightly, of course). They both roared with laughter, spinning around into the distance.

Behind the tree, Casey and Sirius emerged. They were both grinning madly at the scene that they just witnessed.

"I told you the tripping charm would work," Sirius boasted in Casey's face.

"I never doubted you for a second!" Casey called as the two raced off to catch up with their friends.

The End

A/N: So, that's it! Tell me what'cha thought of it! I'm so glad that I finally wrote that down. It's been in my head for weeks. Please review!


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